


Harry Potter and The Big Bad Hunter

by Flamyoi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Coercion, Dark Spells, First Kiss, First Meetings, Friends to Lovers, Guilt, Hiding, Hurt/Comfort, Love Letters, M/M, Mutual Pining, Teenage Drama, Treason, Underage Kiss, Violence, War, canon character death, codes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 22:16:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20365984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamyoi/pseuds/Flamyoi
Summary: Written for the prompt: Write a love story between the war, with the lovers on different sides.The war is raging. Harry is in hiding, longing for his lover trapped in Romania by the dark forces. Will they be able to meet again?





	Harry Potter and The Big Bad Hunter

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Another translation, I hope you'll like it. It's quick, but I think it has helped me go through my ideas for this pairing before beginning Traveling Around.

Harry could count on the fingers of one hand the numbers of times he had met Charlie Weasley, an older brother of his childhood friend, Ron. Even Bill, the eldest, who worked for Gringotts in Egypt, came back more often at the Burrow than the second born.

The first time, Harry had found him distressing, compared to the others. Charlie was quiet and gruff thanks to a decade with dragons in a remote place.

The second time, he had found they had a few things in common, like their love for flying or their shared tendency to listen instead of talk in a group of people.

The third time was during the Triwizard Tournament. Harry had found that he finally had a lot of things to say and that Charlie didn't mind listening to him. (The third time had actually consisted of numerous meetings during the week Charlie'd stayed at Hogwarts)

The fourth time, Harry had noticed how he wasn't insensitive to Charlie's allure. His apparent gruffness hid a very likeable personality – or so Harry thought.

The fifth time, during Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry had drunk too much and slipped into Charlie's room at night.They had written to each other since Harry's fourth year, and they had noticed that it wasn't easy to talk in person afterwards. For the time being, they had been happy to spend time together. They had fallen asleep with their arms around each other.

The morning after, Harry had felt sorry for disturbing Charlie's intimacy and had told him so. Charlie had then reassured him and kissed the corner of his lips so fast that Harry had wondered if it was a dream. Still, Charlie seemed to like him back, so Harry hadn't backed off.

Their relationship hadn't had the time to grow, though. The next evening, the British wizarding world had fallen to the hands of Voldemort and his minions had arrived at the Burrow, forcing everyone to leave in a hurry.

Harry had exchanged a distressed glance with Charlie before apparating.

[...]

Those events had taken place three months earlier. Harry was now camping with Ron and Hermione in the Forest of Dean. It was the easiest way for them to find the Horcruxes.

The news from the rest of the world wasn't positive. Charlie had sent Harry a letter a month ago. He had written in Romanian and protected it with a password – Merlin blesses Hermione who knew how to crack the codes. Besides, Charlie hadn't said anything that could put them in danger, so the letter hadn't been easy to comprehend at first.

" _ My dear H, _

_ How are you? I hope you're alright, and that the hunt is going okay. I imagine it's hard to find the strength, what with the cold and the other hunters. I hope you'll be done before spring; we're missing the food here. _

_ And please forgive me for being sombre, but things aren't getting any better for us. The reserve had fallen into the other hunters' clutches. They've tried to kill the animals before understanding that they were of better use alive. In the end, we're hostages and unable to alert our guild, though I've sent a note to my father through the post office. I know you have to keep moving for your hunt, so I feel confident with the safety of this very letter. _

_ On a personal note, I miss our talks from last year, when hunger hadn't forced us to venture out. It felt nice to chat with you. I hope that when everything is over, we will resume our relationship with higher intensity. _

_ Kiss your friends for me, be careful with the hunters and if everything goes well, we'll see each other after New Year. _

_ C." _

He had summarised the first part of the letter to Hermione and Ron without showing them the part meant just for him. He couldn't deal with Ron's jealousy right now.

Hermione had thought that Voldemort must have used Impero to submit all the reserve's workers; otherwise, they would have put on a nasty fight. It was uncomplicated to get what he had in mind now that he was in control of Europe's largest dragon reserve, which was worse than the Order's worse guess since Charlie was supposed to check-in with new allies from the reserve. Harry couldn't precisely tell from the carefully written letter how badly the mission was compromised.

Hermione, who knew the muggle world better than Ron and who was less easily identifiable than Harry, left the Forest of Dean to post letters to Harry's former neighbour, Arabella Figg, who then passed them to the Order. Hopefully, those didn't need to be as vague as Charlie's.

The months passed. The trio managed to destroy as many Horcruxes as they could. They didn't receive any message from their side. They were alone with their mission.

After a lightning visit to Hogwarts, where they were hidden by their former classmates, to retrieve another Horcruxe in the form of the Ravenclaw's tiara, Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived at Square Grimmauld.

They weren't happy with the way the others treated them as teenagers when they had just spent months on the run by themselves, retrieving dark artefacts at the risk of their lives. True, their parents wouldn't have let them go had they been aware at the time, but still, that was hard to be kept away from the Order's decisions.

[...]

Some days after their arrival, Remus came to see Harry in Sirius' old bedroom. Before he let any word out, the former teacher scanned the room gloomily. Harry kept his eyes on the snitch he was toying with.

"You know, your godfather would be very proud. He would have stood up for you no matter what the others are saying."

Harry didn't ask what Remus thought about it.

"I was distraught when I learnt that you three had left for this mission, alone. I mean, Dumbledore often had stupid ideas, so it wasn't easy to have faith. However, you did your best, and that paid off." He smiled and Harry got more exhaustion than joy. "You do look like Sirius, but you're more cautious. Must be Lily's genes. Oh, and, by the way. That wasn't what I came to tell you. We've received letters for you, through the muggle's way. We've checked for spells and I personally made sure that no one could open them in your place."

"Thank you, Remus."

Harry's heart started to beat faster. Only one person sent him letters. And if it was him? Harry hadn't heard about him for months. He quickly rummaged in the stack. The last one had been posted in Romania three weeks earlier.

"Can you tell me who're they from?"

Harry raised his head to stare at the man who had been his parents' friend and who was the closest he had from a family member now that Sirius wasn't there anymore.

"Charlie Weasley."

Remus raised his eyebrows, surprised but not judgmental.

"Are you friends?"

Harry looked away.

"Maybe a bit more than that, if the war hadn't torn us apart.

Remus took a minute to think about it.

"If your relationship is strong, nothing, not even the war, will destroy it."

He didn't mention that the war also had a way to end relationships permanently.

"I hope so."

"I'll let you to your reading. Don't hesitate to come to find me if you ever want to talk about things."

"Thanks. I appreciate."

The man nodded and left the room quietly. Harry gazed at the white envelopes in his hands. Charlie had this hard-to-read, angular writing, whether he used a quill or a pen.

Harry decided to read them in chronological order, even if he was dying to have news.

" _ Dear H., _

_ I hope you'll find this letter before our next meeting, even though I also hope that this situation will end soon. _

_ It's been three months since my last letter. I guess a lot of things happened. Here, it has gotten worse. The big bad hunter hasn't returned, but his minions with dark cloaks aren't better. They're spreading terror and almost everyone is forced to comply. They're still somewhat afraid of the biggest animals and need some of us to help manage them. In exchange for my so-called freedom, I had to give them information about the reserve and big animals. I know they plan to attack the Castle, but the guild must know about that, so don't worry. _

_ I genuinely hope that you're okay. The radio hasn't spoken about you, so fingers crossed. Stay alive, Harry, alright? We'll celebrate victory together. _

_ C." _

The second one was lighter and the writing messier.

" _ My dear H. _

_ I don't have a lot of time. They've taken away half of the reserve's hunters with all the animals. They don't trust me because they know I've lived in the Castle, so I'm to stay here. It's a bit quieter, but I don't like this. I've tried to tell the guild; you should check if they got the intel. If I don't hear from you before a month, I'll find another way. _

_ Take care. _

_ C." _

He was right; that was the silence before the storm. Harry opened the last one, the newest.

_"My dear H,_

_Still haven't heard your name on the radio, so that's something. Spring is approaching, and the reserve is almost empty. I feel like something is going to happen, any minute now. It's just a handful of us, and we're watched like crazy. I'm scared about the future; I don't know if they want to use us or to prevent our side to use us. Don't trust anyone. Every single one of your friends can turn up against you in a bat of an eyelash, as I've painfully witnessed here. The big bad hunter's minions have no morals and will do anything to win._

_Take care of yourself; we'll see each other soon._

_XX_

_C."_

The young man set down the letters on the bed's covers and hid his head in his hands. He was thankful that Charlie was alive, though he couldn't help but fear that something had happened in the last three weeks.

And everyone wasn't going to be as understanding as Remus when he would tell them he had gotten letters from Charlie – though maybe they did know already for the envelopes had Romanian stamps on them. He had no other choice than to lie. He couldn't reveal their relationship without Charlie's consent. That was a truth that belonged to them both. They would need to wait until the war was over to be free of every threat and every duty.

Harry decided to write an answer to his secret partner, to put his feelings into words. Charlie would get it later. Impatient, he rummaged through Sirius desk until he found some piece of yellowed parchment. He took a pen in his bag – he had never indeed learnt to write with a quill.

" _ Dear Charlie, _

_ I've just got back to London and read your letters. The situation is far from ideal, but knowing you're okay comforts me. I've received your first letter when I was still in the forest. Hopefully, Hermione was there to help me with the translation. Her intelligence had been so helpful while we were doing our mission. We have every item we were looking for but one. All we have to do is to kill the snakes, and we will be free. Are you impatient? I am, even though I know it won't end without a battle, and that it will be bloody. _

_ It's selfish but – in fact, it doesn't matter since you'll see this in a while – I'd like you to stay away from it if there's a battle. Alright, that would deprive us of a skilled fighter, that would mean that your life is worth more than others', that would mean using my statute to get something. And I don't want that, no matter how terrified I am to lose you. _

_ We haven't shared the endless stories I had in the Castle with Ron; we haven't talked animatedly through the nights like I did with Hermione. We have almost nothing in common if our courage to do what's fair. And yet, I feel closer to you than anyone else. Never could I have imagined that one day I wouldn't be afraid to speak my mind to someone. And I don't mean a close relation; I mean The one. _

_ It's kind of ironic because everyone thinks your sister and I would be a great couple – except Ron, but I don't know what scares him more: his sister breaking his best friend's heart or the other way around. Ginny's all grown up now, because of the war, but I don't project myself with her. At all. _

_ I can imagine everyone's faces when we'll finally tell them. _

_ I'm taking care of myself; you better do the same. If everything goes fine, we'll be together soon. _

_ Love, _

_ Harry." _

He was signing when he heard noise outside of his room: someone was coming upstairs. Heavy footsteps could only mean Ron or the twins for adults didn't venture upstairs.

Harry swiftly put the letter in the desk's drawer. He remembered Charlie's ones and also managed to hide them under the covers in time.

"What are you doing, mate?" Ron barged in and asked.

"I was thinking. Remus' talked to me about Sirius earlier."

Ron understood his friend feelings and shot him a concerned glance.

"Mom's calling for dinner."

"Fine, let's go."

They went downstairs to the kitchen, in the old house's bowels. Harry made a mental note to lock the drawer before someone find the letter.

[...]

Weeks passed with a hazy slowness. Everyone was nervous and thought about those who were on a mission or at Hogwarts. Voldemort was trying to win the Ministry of Magic over, and he already had the Romanian reserve and other strategic places under his control. Those were the worst losses. The Order's radio station detailed their situation by the hour. The good news was few, even though each absence of name was, in fact, good news.

Harry was training with his friends, under the adults' supervision. The more the time passed, and the more a battle was unavoidable. Voldemort wanted to control Hogwarts, the Ministry, and to kill Harry, who had been his opponent for seventeen years.

They still didn't know when. Severus Snape, their spy amongst the Deatheaters, had to be cautious when bringing information he was the only one to know, or Voldemort would know who was the rat.

In early April, the Order was on the alert. Most of the allies – wizards and magical creatures - were ready to step in, even if the prospect of a dragon attack was especially scary since they could do nothing to protect themselves without hurting the dragons tamers.

Harry knew that everyone had their own part to play in the fight. He had to handle Voldemort; it could only end that way. One of them had to die, and that wouldn't be him.

Harry thought he was holding all the cards, but the deal changed.

Snape told them about the incoming fight, on Voldemort' order. Of course, he had known all along that Snape was a spy. Was the Dark Lord doing them a favour to crush them even more afterwards? It was pretentious, even with the dragons on his side.

The Order evacuated Poudlard's students and staff, Hogsmeade's inhabitants and increased the Ministry's defences, which proved to be especially tricky as no one believed that Voldemort was back.

The first hours of the fight were violent and bloody. Harry was in Hogsmeade, where the bad guy #1 was supposed to show up. He needed to destroy the last Horcrux, which was crawling on the floor.

He saw more than what he wanted to. The snake bit Severus Snape into the Shrieking Shack for he had deceived the Dark Lord. Harry forgot his mission and ran to him. If he had never liked him, he couldn't let him die like this.

Snape gave him his memories and breathed his last, glassy-eyed, a smile on his thin lips as if he remembered the face of Lily Evans.

Crossing the Castle's grounds to use Dumbledore's Pensieve was an obstacle course. Everywhere, spells were illuminating the sky, exploding with noises and hurting people. It was indescribable. Even with his cape, Harry was almost killed a few times.

Harry watched the memories a handful of times and felt defeated. Would the bad news stop at some point? They had chased Horcruxes for months, they had trained like crazy, all for nothing, since he had to die for everyone to have a chance to live. He could just hope that someone else would do it because it would be their last chance.

He wanted to escape, but he couldn't. He owed it to everyone fighting for freedom. He had to defeat Voldemort, even if that meant losing his own life. For the greater good, Dumbledore would say. Harry only felt grudge toward his former headmaster, who could have told him sooner he needed to die. Learning the truth from a dead Snape's memories was genuinely awful.

Now, Harry had to join the battlefield, get his wand, his mental wards and stop as many opponents as he could before facing the Dark Lord.

In the staircases, he disarmed a Deatheater threatening Neville.

"Harry! We were so worried! I killed the snake; they're all gone now!"

"Thanks, Neville. You're a champ'!"

He gave him a high five and kept walking amongst the ruins, the bodies, the screams, the blood. That was the war, and no one should have to experience it.

Harry tried to keep his gaze right in front of him so as not to see people he had known lying on the ground. Selfishly, he wanted his sacrifice to save them all.

Outside the school, Order's members and Deatheaters were fighting violently, the red and green streak of lightning flashing across the sky.

In the middle of the carnage, Voldemort was waiting for his nemesis, protected by his inner circle. Harry felt a bit of relief when he didn't see the snake. Right, Neville had taken care of it. He was the last obstacle between Voldemort and his death.

However, as he was shielding himself from the spells to get to the man responsible for all this mess, Harry spotted familiar red hair and broad shoulders. He almost shouted his name, then remembered that this same person had warned him against trusting anyone, especially his friends. Harry kept walking toward his goal with a heavy heart until Voldemort saw him.

"Well, well! If it isn't our young friend."

The Deathears snickered, and Harry felt a shiver running down his spine. Charlie turned toward him and stared at him. There was no life in his pupils anymore; his gaze was neutral. Harry felt sick to his stomach. He hadn't protected Charlie, who was now at the frontline.

Before he could do anything to protect the man he loved, Voldemort hissed to Charlie, as if he were talking to his snake:

"Bring him to me."

To Harry's horror, Charlie's hand closed around his throat and dragged him to the Dark Lord's feet, looking positively happy from the turn of events. Harry's head was spinning with the lack of air, his lungs spitting their anger and his heart beating faster than ever.

"You see, even your friends have decided to join me. You're a loser, Harry Potter! I am the future; I am the most powerful wizard alive!"

Was this war only a matter of ego? Harry drew on unexpected resources, without a doubt coming from his anger to see Charlie, his Charlie, reduced to degradation. He got up, shaking, and looked daggers at Voldemort.

He could feel the fights going on around their circle. He was sorry in advance for the witness of his fall. He sincerely hoped that someone able to kill Voldemort was around.

"You are going to die, Harry Potter!"

The young man raised his wand, unable not to protect himself, while Voldemort was raising his.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry didn't see the green light coming toward him and making him fall to the ground. His consciousness shut down. For a minute, everyone started screaming and Voldemort laughed like a madman. Then, the fights resumed with renewed vigour.

When Harry opened his eyed back, he was utterly lost. He was almost buried under debris, blood was covering the top of his head, and a headache was killing him. Wait? Why was he feeling anything? He was supposed to be dead in the first place, and surely, death couldn't hurt that much. Despair knocked him down. Had his sacrifice been enough? Because he couldn't think he could do it again.

He got up with the utmost precaution. He didn't know how long he had stayed here, unless for the fresh blood on his forehead.

He looked at his surroundings. Voldemort was about two hundred feet away, only two of his Deatheaters close by, and one of them severely hurt. They were fighting against an Auror, an Order member and a few students, who should have had the upper hand, if not for the Dark magic spells used by their opponents.

Harry strolled toward them, hiding until he was about thirty feet away from Voldemort.

"Hello, Tom," he croaked.

His painful throat didn't allow his voice to be as ominous as he wanted.

"Potter!" the Dark Lord shouted. "How many times will I have to kill you?"

"Bad luck to you. That's my turn now."

This time, Harry cast his defence spell at the same time.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Green and red light met in the sky. Harry called upon his raw power, his anger, his pain and his will to free the world from this vile and megalomaniac wizard.

The red light ate the green one and hit Voldemort in the chest at full speed. Harry saw in his eyes the failure to understand what was happening, then his back hit the ground, and that was it. Someone else managed to throw Stupefy at the remaining Deatheaters while Harry stayed on his feet, eyes on the first person he had killed.

What came after was blurry for him. At some point, he met Hermione and Ron, who were both grave and not speaking much; just what he needed.

He knew that it wasn't over for him. Until now, he had pretended that no one could die. However, now, he had to face the truth and honour those who had lost their lives.

Harry saw the Weasleys, gathered around bodies on the floor. He stopped breathing – please Merlin, not Charlie – and felt sick when he saw Fred. Hermione hid her face in his neck, and he embraced her.

That's when he was Charlie, sitting on the floor, pain written all across his face. Hopefully, he was no longer under the spell that had made him Harry's enemy. Harry softly let go of Hermione and walked toward his lover, his body moving on his own. Charlie stared at him, not batting an eyelash until his gaze fell upon his neck, where Harry could still feel his fingers on his sensitive skin.

He didn't know what to say, the atmosphere was so heavy, and Charlie's guilt was choking him as surely as his hands earlier. Harry fell to his knees and held Charlie tightly against his chest. They were both alive. What they had done meant nothing in the end.

Timidly, Charlie's hand embraced him and brought him closer. Harry enjoyed this moment, the best in months, their's. The consequences would come soon enough. For now, he could only rejoice for death had spared his love.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think about it?  
Again, thank you for reading! That means a lot.


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